Destination is never a place

Written by Eileen Lorenzo-Bautista01 February 2013

Traveling has become one luxury that not everyone can afford. It can be short or long, expensive hotels or a backpackers inn. Not surprisingly though, We always think of the expensive, highly rated destinations we read over the Internet and travel magazines. Who has, at one point in her life, never dreamt of going to places like Paris? I guess we all have imagined making a jump shot with the Eiffel Tower as a back drop.

As I got older and one who did quite a lot of travelling, It dawned on me that the best getaways I had are not the ones i did on my own but those that I have spent with the people I love. The opportunity to have explored the normal, simple and everyday places in my country that are so filled with culture; so worthy to be experienced firsthand and unadulterated.

It's true what Henry Miller has said “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”.

Travelling has taken a new meaning for me now that I'm married. Seeing new places together with my hubby just makes all the difference. The adventure and the delicious food trips our travelling entails is just refreshing. We never come home the same. There is always a new thing or two to learn about each other.

Just three months after our wedding, we chose to go and see the breathtaking Banaue Rice Terraces in the Cordilleras in my own country, the Philippines. We went hiking for hours, went spelunking, and to top it all, seeing the sunrise 1636 meters above sea level at Kiltepan.

We still dream of Paris, but I guess it can wait. Who needs to rush when you know you have all the time to see the world with the very person you love most, right?